Tag Archives: Swapped

Background:

I was sent a braid to spin for a swap. I wanted to do something really special with it so decided to ply it with a luscious blend from Countess Ablaze:

The supplied blend was all light and brightness and fun, fresh colours. The darker blend was deep and subtle and more mysterious. They seemed like two sides of the same story, and as I wanted the yarn to arrive as a Mothers’ Day gift, so the story came about.

Story:

1. The Light: “Nurture”

Watching them breathe whilst they sleep.

Sleepy eyes and rosy cheeks when they wake.

Joyful cuddles and time together.

Precious moments, rushing by too fast.

Playing in the park: candyfloss and water slides.

Making daisy chains in the sun.

Bedtime stories.

Sleep.

2. The Dark: “Indulgence”

Having a day all to myself.

Dropping responsibility and embracing freedom.

Staying up late and sneakily raiding the chocolate stash!

Because I’m a grown-up (so they say) and it’s allowed.

Doing something just for me. Just because I want to.

And looking forward to being with them again.

Information:

Title: Every Good Thing

Composition: Fibre supplied

Weight: 200g / 13 WPI / DK

Length: 468m / 512yd approx.

Care: Hand wash only. Dry flat.

Details:

Date: February 2016

Skein code: 0086

Fibre:

Unknown blend – Looks like Merino, Silk & Angelina.

“Gothika” – Merino, Black Bamboo & Rainbow Trilobal.

Source:

Spin City

Countess Ablaze

Status: Swapped

Background:

I love spinning gradient yarns, and had another chance to indulge this hobby for a skill swap with a very talented knitter. As the yarn was created the colours spoke to me first of metal and then rust, merging into the colours of dusky rose petals. The gradient fibre set, from the very talented Hilltop Cloud, was called “Padlock”, so I named the yarn “Unlocked”.

Story:

Leave the shelter of the homestead – hearth and warmth and family – and step over the threshold. Survey the garden wilderness, full of hidden nooks waiting to be found.

Follow the path as it slowly becomes more and more overgrown. As what was open and passable becomes a natural obstacle course of leaves, twigs and fallen branches.

A dead end? But, not quite hidden, a door, and hanging from it a rusty padlock hinting of past treasures once hidden from uninvited guests. Unused and ineffective now, you push the crumbling timbers of the door. Hinges squeak, grumbling at the call to action, and finally the sight, hidden for so long, comes into view: twisted, overgrown and thorny, but in bloom!

Background:

I made this skein for a mystery Valentine’s Day swap. I tried to disguise it as best I could with an anonymous label but, needless to say, I was caught out straight away!

Both the yarn design and the name were inspired by the iconic Pink Floyd album cover. This was a really fun yarn to spin and I loved the result.

Story:

Maybe dancing butterflies and bluebirds on your shoulder is not your thing.

Maybe it’s the hidden, the unknown, or the unwise that pulls you in.

The secret known to only two souls. The destructive pas de deux. The live fast, split young experience. The intensity of life ruled by wild impulse. The same basic instinct that drives many beings to seek out one who makes us realise we’re understood, and part of a greater whole. It’s just some like things to be … that little bit darker.

Information:

Title: Dark Side of the Swoon

Composition: Black Welsh wool, commercial glitter thread and beads.

Weight: 100g fibre weight / 13 WPI / DK

Length: 210m / 230yd approx.

Care: Hand wash only. Dry flat. Hand Wind

Details:

Date: February 2016

Skein code: 0087

Fibre: 100% natural Black Welsh wool

Source: World of Wool

Status: Swapped

Background:

This is “Champagne & Bouncy Castles”, so called because as I was spinning it all I could think of was parties. The fibre was unlabelled, but I suspect it is a merino/silk/angelina mix. There were so many beautiful colours blended together, I wanted to preserve that in the yarn and not over-complicate it. This is a lovely singles yarn, and the colours remain as clearly defined swirls in the twist.

Background:

This batt from Bits and Hobs was a joy to work with. It was called “Fruit and Flowers,” and inspired the idea of orchards. I spun it as a sports weight, gently thick and thin, singles yarn. As I wound the finished skein into a yarn cake, it transformed itself into a beautiful rose!

Story:

I grew up with orchards. They were, are, and always will be special, almost sacred, places. Like a secret garden, I could get away from everyday hustle and let nature envelop and balm. They took me through each season – from bare twigs to buds, from buds to flowers, from flowers to fruit, playing out the evolution of each year. Calm, peaceful and unforced productivity was a great model for life.

Status: Swapped

Background:

I was given these rolags to spin for a swap. There was so much interesting texture hidden within, it was invariably expressed as an irregular textured single in the spinning. The commercial glitter thread sets it off perfectly.

Story:

Ideas, thoughts, concepts come or arrive or happen or were always there. Sometimes they are fleeting, sometimes more persistent. Some demand to be made. They care not that there is no vocabulary, no construction that can express them. They demand innovation to bring them to life. And the concept that revealed itself to you, which cannot be contrained by conventional lines, may appear differently to each observer. You brought it into being. Now it grows and changes with each interaction. Abstract expression is never static.

Background:

This was another swap with a lovely and talented lady. She wanted a complete surprise so I thought I’d spoil her with a Hilltop Cloud gradient set. The fibre was called “Cabbage Leaf” and inspired the concept behind “Eat Your Greens.”

Story:

I saw a cabbage flower once, in the place I’d least expect it. Nestling, hiding its face, but placed at the centre of everything, radiating nature’s elegance.

It was in a flower display in a church. And it wasn’t even harvest! It had been picked for its subtle beauty.

Was this the cabbage I knew? From school dinners and uneaten meals. The two ideas didn’t go together. Incongruous was the word.